Adalia McKenzie of Illinois drives to the basket in the second half against Washington State during the 2024 Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament semifinals at Hinkle Fieldhouse on April 1, 2024, in Indianapolis.
Inside one of the sport’s venerable venues, Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse, Ethridge was one of many players and coaches gushing about the opportunities this new event presented for the game — even after an 81-58 semifinal loss to Illinois in front of a mostly orange-clad crowd on Monday night. So in a season filled with a growing amount of sellouts, major headlines and more prime-time televised games and increasing ratings, the scene playing out at Hinkle seemed a natural reflection of the changing dynamics of women’s basketball across the nation.
They didn’t end there. At this year’s women’s tourney, a conflict of interest involving one ref prompted NCAA officials to make a mid-game change, and last weekend at the Portland Regional came the revelation that the 3-point lines were not identical. Another indication of the growing popularity of women’s basketball is that the WNIT still exists as it always has, under a separate ownership group from both the NCAA and the previous NIT organizers.